Amaz holds the 105th Jaraqui Valley Community Meet Up  

Maxi Media Text

Photo: Daniela Lopes

Edition highlighted the bioeconomy sector as a fundamental strategy for sustainable development in the Amazon  

The 105th Jaraqui Valley Community Meet Up was organized by Amaz Aceleradora de Impacto and took place at the Moinho Technology and Innovation Center, located within Nilton Lins University, and was attended by entrepreneurs, investors, institutions and enthusiasts from the startup sector. 

“Meet Up is a meeting designed to facilitate the exchange of ideas and generate genuine connections within the innovation ecosystem. With a light and uncomplicated format, it promotes more dynamic and assertive interactions between the different actors in this environment, stimulating the construction of synergies and collaborations”, explains Jaraqui Valley Community Leader, Isis Arébalo. 

One of the highlights of the program was the panel “Impact Connections: Challenges and Opportunities”, with the participation of Rafael Moreira, selection and acceleration leader at Amaz – a business accelerator of the Institute for Conservation and Sustainable Development of the Amazon (Idesam). On the occasion, he presented the 2025 Business Call, with applications open until Friday (04/25). The call for proposals and the form are available at link. 

For the past five years, Amaz has been supporting several businesses with a socio-environmental impact in the region. In 2024, it won the Jaraqui Graúdo award, a competition promoted by the Jaraqui Valley community, in the “Angel Investor” category. Currently, 19 ventures make up the accelerator’s portfolio. 

“This year, we celebrate 5 years of operations in the Amazon and, since the beginning, when we created the first hybrid fund, we have evaluated more than 500 potential businesses, accelerated 52 initiatives and invested directly in 18 businesses with socio-environmental impact. With this, more than a thousand families in 56 municipalities in the Amazon have benefited and we have also contributed to the conservation and/or restoration of 447 thousand hectares of native forest”, points out Gabriela Souza, Operations Leader. 

In addition to Rafael Moreira, Taiane Freitas, from PPBio, and Roma Chavez, from Impact Hub, also participated in the panel, expanding the dialogue on opportunities for early-stage businesses with a focus on the Rural Amazon. 

Bioeconomy: an expanding agenda 

Bioeconomy is one of the issues that has been gaining momentum when discussing sustainable development in the Amazon, with initiatives that preserve the forest while boosting production chains based on socio-biodiversity products, such as açaí, Brazil nuts, cupuaçu, cocoa, honey and natural oils. This system guarantees income and well-being for traditional riverside, indigenous, quilombola and extractive communities. 

“It is very gratifying to see that this is taking shape. We have the National Bioeconomy Plan (PNDBio), the State Bioeconomy Plan [of Amazonas], and the New Industry Brazil (NIB). We are very happy to be part of the initial discussions. And Idesam has always been a great partner, and more recently with Amaz, it has been helping to boost innovative businesses related to the bioeconomy in the state of Amazonas,” highlights Cleuciliz Magalhães, vice-rector of Postgraduate Studies, Research and Innovation at Nilton Lins University. 

There are challenges to be overcome, but the expert is confident in the evolution of the ecosystem, especially with the increased participation of universities that have been encouraging entrepreneurship through events, incubators and technological innovation centers. This is not only in Manaus, but throughout the region. 

“We have logistical issues, because being in the Amazon is different from being in São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro. Here, we face challenges in training these people much more quickly to understand this scenario of innovation and sustainable development. We are at an opportune moment to accelerate the process of innovation, entrepreneurship and issues related to the bioeconomy,” concluded the vice-rector of research and innovation.